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Air fare payment through Instalments

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if this form of payment exists here in Europe, and the UK.
I travel to Latin America every winter to visit family, but usually the air fare is way too expensive to pay all at once, leaving me with a burning pocket.

After returning from my recent trip, I found that in many countries such as Brazil and Argentina, and airlines such as KLM and many travel agents offer payment through monthly instalments, like you would a car for example. This means I could book in advance, and gradually pay it off.

I'm sure it works out more expensive, and I don't think it exists anymore here in Europe, but I was curious if anybody knows of any agencies/airlines here in the UK that offer this form of payment? I'm already looking at booking for December 2013, but I don't have the lump of cash!

In the USA, quite a number of the airlines (Air Tran, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, United & US Airways) all offer this service, however its obviously only available to those people with a U.S. billing address.

I had a quick look and couldn't see any European airlines offering the service, but I think something like this could work in Europe and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see "Bill Me Later" or a similar alternative be launched over here in the near future.

If you plan on booking soon then perhaps it's too late. But what's wrong with just saving up for the trip and buying it all in one go?

I don't see the difference between setting aside £x each month for the flights until you have enough and paying for the flights in instalments to the airline?

Hoping to book for travel in December/January 2014, since booking in advance usually means lower fares. Traveling with a large family, its easier to pay in instalments since saving up isn't possible as other expenses take priority, whereas by having the obligation of payment to an agent makes it more liable. Also putting money aside would mean having to book later in the year and risk the air fare increasing.. But it was just a thought, anyway.

Thanks for the replies, I think it would be a good business idea for agencies here in Europe, and surprised its not offered especially in times of economic hardship!